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Chapter 164 - The Passing Of An Era
There was a silence they could cut with a knife.
"Mason, Mr. Wayne really did kidnap you from the camp?" Mary asked softly and then looked at her husband. "What for?"
"Until today I was completely at a loss. But now I understand that he was trying to clarify a climate of my father's family", Mason explained. "It happened around year before Sophia's gone missing. The previous summer. Mr. Wayne presented himself as the senior member of the war game and led me away from my group. I spent a few hours in his company being confident that it is part of the war strategy. And returning to the camp I found out that everyone's panic-stricken of searching for me. I was not injured the camp so the leadership hushed up the incident. I did not mind. Mr. Wayne did no harm to me. Just occasionally asked strange questions. Mr. Wayne, if you do believe that the danger is still there, do you ever miss the chance to see your grandchildren for once?"
"Mr. Capwell, why you're so concerning about me? And about my daughter too. If I was not mistaken, back then you made it clear that you cannot stand your stepmother".
Mason turned pale.
"We always had a kind of rocky relationship but Sophia always was a part of our family. And she still is. Like you are as her father".
"You are not my grandson. And your father does not cause me affection..."
"He barely makes anyone to feel warm but it's no reason to reject his influence and protection".
"CC Capwell offers me these?" Bernard narrowed his eyes.
"I had the talk to CC, he does not mind to take you to us", Sophia put in.
"He does not mind... No, I do not want to live under his roof out of his mercy..."
"Just hear yourself!" Mary suddenly snapped. "Uncle Bernard, tell me for what you have lived in constant fear so long time? What for you managed to escape from assassination four times? To end your life all alone? To leave your only daughter and the grandchildren with a memory of the father and grandfather who even did not want to see them? I believe in the pursuit of safety you forget that there are still feelings apart from the willing to survive. And not just yours".
"The saving of own life is more important thing than feelings, Mrs. Capwell", he replied.
"Whose life?" Mary retorted on her stubbornness. "And whose feelings?"
"My daughter's who is just fine now and her daughterly sentiments, of course".
"Or may be your own life and your fatherly feelings for your daughter? Love her from a distance is so convenient, right? And if only your daughter believe you're dead is all right... Have you any idea how it feels?"
"I'm not responsible for her assumption," Bernard huffed clearly getting tired of the hard feeling conversation. "My daughter lives in very comfortable circumstances and abundance. That's enough for me. I do not want to bring the trouble into her family... It once turned my own life into hell".
"Do you felt our family life as hell?" Sophia asked him. "Yes, we were... isolated but we were happy... as long as mom was alive".
"You were happy so you did leave your home when you were a young girl," Bernard ironically looked at her.
"I just grew up, dad. And I wanted to play on stage. And you just took advantage of moment to push me as far as possible, right? To cut me off from the family secrets and dangers?"
"Phia, perhaps you were happy as a child. In fact, I hope so," Mr. Wayne subtly softened. "But it was not a kind of life for I and your mother had our hopes".
"So why do you cling to it?" Mason asked. "Give yourself a chance for a normal life".
"My life would never be normal, Mr. Capwell. And no one ever bring my wife back to live".
"You afraid..." Mason said slowly.
"Of course, I do", he snorted. "If you have experienced all what I had..."
"... But it's not a danger", Mason finished. "It's change. That's what you're afraid of. Change. Novelty. Feelings".
Mary instinctively moved closer to him, waiting for the outbreak but nothing happened. Mr. Wayne just stared somewhere out of the window.
"Dad..." Sophia took his hand. "If we could leave you to live here and just occasionally visit you, I would never become a push. But we can not afford it, right?" she smiled sadly. "So we have no options... And don't offer me to pretend that this meeting never happened!" her voice suddenly skyrocketed. "I'm stubborn just as you are!"
"You think if I'm old it's mean I'm breakable?" Bernard did not look up her.
"We're not trying to break you, Uncle Bernard" Mary said. "And CC Capwell's house would become a kind of refuge not for the first time", she quickly looked up Mason. "There were a few times when I wonder if I and Mason are going to hide inside of it from killers for the rest of our lives".
"Killers?" Mr. Wayne was surprised. "Why killers would hunt for you? Theda never told me that they're threatening you".
"Oh, it was not related to your old days. Just to the twin brother of Mary's father", Mason said reluctantly.
"Larry?" Mr. Wayne gaped. "Larry was trying to kill you?"
"It's a long story," Mary interrupted him. "Yes, Uncle Larry tried to kill Mason, and we had to hide in CC Capwell's house".
"Mr. Wayne, I am sure we can solve the problem of the threat to your life," Mason said. "But this requires you to be completely safe".
"Solve the problem? That would be tremendously ambitious of you," Bernard said frankly skeptical.
"When it comes to his family, nothing is impossible for my father", Mason said.
"And for you too" Mary quietly added. Mason discontentedly looked at her but Mary defiantly looked at him. "You and your father are very similar in that way".
"Dad..." Sophia began but he sharply interrupted her. "Okay, I'll go with you. Give me half an hour for packing".
Everybody in the room let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Wayne looked at them with a grim annoyance and disappeared in the back.
"I hope this is not an attempt to escape through the back door," Mason mused.
"I'm sure it's not", Mary said and asked: "Curb your sarcasm, please".
Mason shrugged. "I thought I'm very diplomatic".
Bernard Wayne took twenty-five minutes instead thirty. After throwing his things in trunk of the car, he moved through the house, peeking in every corner, almost sniffing in and finally came out to his old new family.
Now it's was Mason who sat behind the wheel but as soon as he took off Mr. Wayne stopped him: "I need to talk with someone. Go there," he pointed to the left.
Mason shrugged and silently turned to the direction. They drove a couple of blocks and Bernard asked to stop at one of the houses. He got out and without pausing walked into the house.
"Probably he wants to say goodbye," Mary said softly.
"Do you think Mr. Wayne have friends here?" Mason wondered.
"Why not? Beside the house belongs to Friends of Chumash. The community certainly helped him hide".
Sophia and Mason stared at her, and Mason instinctively turned his head to the house, looking for the sign which was not there.
"How you knew about the house?" Sophia voiced the question what was on the tip of tongue of both of them.
Mary smiled. "My friend belong this tribe. We went to school together and she repeatedly invited me to visit the reservation. And we visited this house back then too. Chumash are very friendly people. And very loyal friends".
"You are right, girl," Bernard's voice said. "They are very nice people and help me to keep my ears open".
He got into the car, and Mason finally drove them to Santa Barbara.
"So the house belongs to you?" Mary finally broke the silence. She shared the back seat with Mr. Wayne as Sophia was in the passenger seat.
"Well, yes and no", Bernard said after a moment of musing. "Originally it belonged to my friend, he's Chumash. Malibu gave me the harbor here when I was pursued. First I was just hiding at his house and then stuck it out".
"Your friend was alone too?" Mary knowingly asked, but to her surprise Bernard shook his head: "Oh, no, he had the large family. But... his wife died and then the children had left all... just around Santa Ynez but he preferred to live alone. And it's became easier when there were two of us ".
"He died?"
"Yes... three years ago. A heart attack overpowered him..." Mr. Wayne obviously did not want to go into details so he went back to the original question: "He sign away the house to me but I still do not registered it as mine. It was safer".
Mary nodded. "Yes, of course," she agreed.
"And I'm able back to it in any moment," Mr. Wayne raised his voice to be heard in the front seat. "Chumash never betray me. I trust them as my own. Every of them".
"Capwells never betray you too," Mason cannot help. "Believe me".
"I hope," Bernard's voice was laced with sadness. "Otherwise no one will give a damn for my life now".
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